Jon and Erika
by Amelia Elizabeth
Summary: Erika's got a touch of space sickness, but Jon has a feeling it is more than that. A fluffy, family, pregnancy story focusing on Jon and Erika over those long 9 months. Thanks again to BonesBird for inspiring me to write for these two.
1. Chapter 1

Jon and Erika

A/N: 24 hours ago I was barely a Jon/Erika shipper at all. Then I read BonesBird's wonderful Romulan War epic and suddenly I found myself jotting down Jon and Rike stories. So this is the first bit of fluff. Thanks again to BonesBird for inspiring me to write for these two SassCaptains and for ingraining the nickname "Rike" so soundly into my brain that I didn't even realize I was using it until I was done. Please read and review! Of course they aren't mine or else things would have turned out just like this.

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Erika leaned heavily against the bulkhead and closed her eyes.

"Rike? You okay?" her husband asked cautiously.

"Just a little dizzy. It feels like the room won't stop spinning," she said as she cradled her head in her hands. Jon walked over and pulled her close into his arms, stroking her long brown hair.

"Its just a little space sickness." "I just want to crawl into bed for the rest of the day," she sighed.

"Then do it. I'll handle overseeing Columbia's repairs. You get some rest. Captain's orders." He kissed her lightly on the forehead. He gave her shoulders a final squeeze and turned to grab the stack of PADDs that he would some how have to read in their entirety. When he turned back, he saw that Erika had sunk to the floor, crouched against the wall, her pale skin almost greenish. He stooped down and put his hands on her arms again. "Hey, come on. Let's get you into bed," he said as he gently pulled her back up to a standing position. She held on to him gratefully. Suddenly Erika let go and bolted for the bathroom.

"Rike? Are you…?" Jon called after her. Even before he got to the bathroom he could hear the sounds of retching. He hurried over and knelt beside her, holding her hair back as she vomited and gently rubbing her back. "Oh gods, Rike. I'm so sorry. I had no idea it was this bad," he said softly.

She shuddered but the worst seemed to be over. "Its alright. I guess I'm just not used to Enterprise's old style grav plating," she have him a lopsided grin.

"Let me get you some water," he said, helping her up and giving her a funny look that said just what he thought about her blaming all this on his old ship. She washed her face off in the sink and looked up at her reflection in the mirror.

"Gods, I look terrible!" she gasped.

"You look space sick. It happens to everyone."

"Not you," she smiled. "No, not me. But to everyone else. Here, have a sip," he said handing her a glass of water as he eased her back down to the bed. "Feeling a little better?" he asked.

"Only a little." She unzipped her jumpsuit as her husband pulled her hair out of its ponytail. "Thank you, Jon. I'm sorry to leave you up there all alone today."

"Don't worry about it. Just feel better, okay? I'll be back around noon to check on you."

"To see if I want to eat?" she grimaced.

"I wasn't going to say it."

"Well, I'll be here."

He kissed her on the forehead again and brushed the hair out of her face. "Rike, the last time you were this sick…"

"I know. Let's just wait. It's probably nothing."

"You're right. I'll see you at noon."

"Try not to break my ship."

"No promises."

Several hours later, Jon was in his ready room reading over those reports. Things were not looking good for Columbia. His wife had managed to fry nearly every system in her ship and the latest estimate was that it would be at least four weeks before she was back out on patrol. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that Erika had done this on purpose just to spend more time with him.

His door beeped. It was probably Trip coming to tell him what else Erika broke on her priceless starship. He tried to wipe the grin from his face. "Come in."

It wasn't Trip. "Erika! What are you doing out of bed?" he stared at her.

"I was hungry. Thought you might want to join me for lunch," she said with a smile.

"You. Hungry?" he asked incredulously. "Where is my space sick wife who could barely stand this morning?"

"She took a nap and now she feels better," Erika grinned. Jon shook his head in disbelief. "Except…" Erika started, fidgeting slightly.

"What?" Jon hastily rose to his feet.

"She kind of has to use the bathroom," Erika said sheepishly.

"What?"

"I have to pee, Jon!" For the second time that day, Captain Erika Hernandez bolted for the bathroom, but this time for a very different reason. When she finally emerged, Jon couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't you…" she started. "It's all that water you made me drink. It just ran straight through my system."

"You didn't think to go before you left my quarters?"

"I didn't need to then! It wasn't until I was in the lift and I heard that 'whoosh whoosh' and all of a sudden I was desperate for the bathroom."

"Erika…."

"I know, it is all starting to sound familiar to me too." She leaned up against him, nuzzling her head in his chest. "I know we've thought about it, but gods, Jonathan, it was so long ago. I didn't think… It's probably nothing, you know."

"I know, but I think we should probably see a doctor soon."

"Tomorrow, if things are still the same, we'll go." She stood up on her tip toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Can you imagine?"

"Oh yes," he sighed. "Rike, if it turns out that you're not, I think we should start trying again."

"Okay. I like that idea," she said as her stomach growled audibly. "Come on, let's go get you lunch," he laughed.

"Hold on just a sec." She sighed and looked away.

"What?" he met her gaze, concern playing across his face.

"I have to go to the bathroom again!" She darted off, leaving her husband stunned in the middle of the ready room.

The next few days, Erika seemed back to normal so neither one of them pressed the idea of going down to sickbay. It was only when, in the middle of a briefing on the repairs were going, Erika hastily left her seat by his side and made a beeline for the nearest bathroom that Jon knew it was time. He quickly dismissed the senior officers and went off in search of his wife. He was just rounding the corner when he nearly ran straight into Erika who was hurrying back to the briefing.

"Hey!" he said, startled.

"What just happened in there?"

"I'm sorry, Jon, I just couldn't hold it any longer!" She blushed as she pulled her husband into a quiet alcove. "All that talk about coolant leaks and I felt like I was bursting!"

Jon looked surprised. "Oh. I thought it was the other thing."

"The vomiting?" she shook her head. "That is only in the mornings…" She stopped suddenly. "Jon, we have to go to sickbay right now!"

"I already cancelled the rest of the briefing." They hurried down the hall towards the lift. "Rike?" he asked.

"Hmmm?"

"You couldn't have held it just a little longer?"

She shot him a glare.

They hurried through the sickbay doors, stealing glances behind their shoulders to make sure no one saw them rush in.

"Ah! Captains. What can I do for you today?" Phlox said as cheerfully as ever.

Jon turned to his wife, letting her take the lead.

"Doctor," Erika began slowly. "I think I might be pregnant." There, she said it. Jon felt a weight off his shoulders that he didn't know was there. Erika still looked tense.

"Hmm. Have you been experiencing any of the common human symptoms? Exhaustion, nausea, frequent urination…?"

"Yes!" Jon blurted out. Erika gave him a look and then nodded.

"All right, let's get you into the imaging chamber. Captain, if you would come with me." Jon watched as Erika lay down on the bed and moved towards the chamber. She gave him a quick smile just before the door closed. He looked up at the monitors and counted down silently in his head until Erika would be released.

"Hmm," Phlox muttered again as he adjusted a few controls. "You can come out now, Captain." As the bed reemerged, Jon felt his heart catch in his throat. Erika sat up, resting her back against his chest and tightly grasping his hand. They both looked at the Denobulan anxiously.

"Congratulations, Captain! You're pregnant!" Relief flooded over Jon and he felt Erika relax in his arms, grinning as he wrapped them tightly around her, resting his chin on her head.

"How far along?" Erika asked eagerly.

"Five weeks. I'm surprised you didn't have any symptoms earlier."

"Perhaps she was a little too busy with a ship falling down around her to notice," Jon offered with a grin. Erika turned around to give him another look but she couldn't stop smiling.

"So that means I am due…" Erika was trying to figure it out in her head.

"I would put your due date at February 13th," Phlox said.

"Think you could wait a day and give us a Valentines baby?" Jon asked.

"I'm afraid not, Captain. Pregnant women are not likely to want to wait when their baby decides to come," Phlox said, almost missing the humor entirely.

"But she's all right?" I mean Erika and the baby?" Jon asked nervously.

"Everyone is fine. Captain Hernandez is perfectly healthy and so is the baby." Phlox reached over to grab a PADD. "I'm going to start you on a regimen of prenatal vitamins and we'll have to set up a check up schedule once Columbia goes back on her own." Jon heard Phlox talking, no doubt giving his wife more recommendations about what she should eat and how much rest she needed to get, but he wasn't paying attention. He was going to be a father. He felt his heart swell with pride as he looked down at Erika. She wanted this so badly, he could tell already.

"Phlox, I'm sure you know from my medical file…" Erika was saying quietly.

"Ah yes, the miscarriage," he said seriously. "Captain, that was a long time ago and there is no reason to think that that will happen again. To be safe, I would hold off on telling the crew until you begin your second trimester."

"Right," she said.

"You know that you can always come here for a check up if you ever start to worry. It might help to know that everything is safe and sound in there," he gave her still flat belly a gentle pat.

"I guess you're going to have to get used to people rubbing your belly, Rike," Jon said as he felt her tense in his arms. "It's going to be big before you know it."

"You should begin showing in approximately five weeks."

"That soon?" Erika gasped.

"Relax, Captain. It could be longer still, depending on the mother and the baby. Your child will make its presence known when it is good and ready. In the meantime, I have a prenatal anti-nausea injection that should help you begin to feel a little more like yourself. "He pressed the cold hypospray into her neck with a quiet hiss. "It should last for 24 hours but if it wears off, just come back and see me."

"Thanks, Doc," Erika groaned. Her pale cheeks were just beginning to have a little color in them. "There is one other thing…"

"Oh?" "Before we came down to see you, I … we were in a briefing and I had to…well… get up and go," she muttered.

"Go? Go where?" Phlox asked confusedly.

"You know," Erika sighed. "I had to go to the bathroom."

"Oh."

"I couldn't hold it any longer. It felt like my bladder was so full it was going to explode! I've never been that desperate before."

"Oh, Captain, that is all a normal part of human pregnancy."

"Isn't there anything you can do about that? I'm sure my crew will be bound to notice if I can't sit still for more than 30 minutes without running off to the head."

"Unfortunately not," Phlox said, turning back to his work. "Just make sure you are getting plenty of fluids and exercise each day. And for goodness sakes, Captain, don't hold it for so long. If you feel like you need to go, just go!"

"Thanks," Erika groaned, clearly not pleased with his response.

"Don't worry, Rike," Jon said with a smile. "I think it is kind of adorable." He kissed her on the cheek. "So can we leave now?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," Phlox waved them away. "But I expect to see one of you first thing tomorrow morning for your first prenatal visit."

"I'll be here," Jon said with a grin. "Jonathan!" Erika cried. "Don't worry, Doctor. I'll be here. I have a feeling I'm going to have someone dragging me to every single appointment."

"I see." Phlox shook his head. "Congratulations again, Captains. This really is wonderful news."

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	2. Chapter 2 - 8 weeks

Chapter 2 - Eight Weeks Along

"Doc, I've got a problem. None of my uniforms fit and it is only going to get worse from here," Erika sighed as she leaned up against the wall. Phlox could have probably guessed that was the problem, she thought to herself, because she was wearing a pair of loose stretch pants and one of Jon's shirts. Her husband had laughed when she went rummaging through his drawers but desperate times called for desperate measures. And when she backed for her captaincy and deployment on Columbia, she hadn't thought to bring maternity clothes. It was a minor miracle that any of her civilian pants fit at all.

"I'm sure one of our ships has a command division maternity uniform in storage…" Phlox said, looking her over, his eyes lingering on the telltale swell of a baby bump deftly hidden under her husband's oversized shirt. Erika folded her arms across her chest self-consciously.

"I'm not ready for that just yet. Jon and I weren't planning on telling our crews for another six weeks." Six weeks and she would be safely in the second trimester. Six weeks and she would have made it past where everything went wrong before.

"I see. So something discreet?" Phlox raised an eyebrow.

Erika nodded. "I suppose you've never had to disguise a pregnancy before."

"No," he agreed. "I can't say that I have."

"Oh gods, you don't think the reason I'm getting … you know… bigger is because of another baby, do you?"Erika paled at the thought.

"Not to worry, Captain," Phlox said giving her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, "all your scans reveal one and only one healthy little baby. Now, let's see about that uniform." She handed him the spare uniform that she had brought with her and he spread it out on one of the biobeds. "What kind of alternations were you looking to make?"

"I don't know exactly. I know that I'm not too thrilled about wearing a jumpsuit while pregnant. It makes going to the bathroom… difficult." She felt her cheeks flush as she gave Phlox a grin.

"How about we split it up?" he suggested. "We can make the bottom into a nice pair of trousers with some elastic in the waste. Goodness knows you'll be needing it soon."

"Don't remind me," Erika groaned.

"As for the top," Phlox continued, "I suggest we turn the under-turtleneck into a larger shirt that will fit comfortably over your belly. I'll split your uniform top into an oversized service jacket because you seem to be quiet content in oversized things right now," he nodded at Jon's shirt, "and no one will be the wiser."

"Thank you, Doctor," she said.

"If anyone asks, just say that Starfleet is testing a new style of uniform and you volunteered to try it out."

"You really think that will work?" she asked skeptically.

"I don't see why not. Besides, you outrank everyone on these two ships besides your husband. Who exactly do you think will be challenging what you say?" He folded his arms and looked her square in the eye.

"I suppose you are right. But you know, the rumor mills are already starting," she held her head in her hands.

Phlox walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Captain, at some point in the very near future you simply will not be able to keep this from your crew. You will have to tell them."

"I know," Erika said quietly. "Phlox, why am I dreading this? I was so excited when we found out that I was pregnant and now all I can think of is what will our crews think when they find out? What will Starfleet think?"

"They will be happy for you. Of that I am sure," he told her gently. "It is completely normal for expectant mothers to worry about announcing their pregnancy to the world. It is a very private and intimate part of your life and I'm sure you still have your worries about your last pregnancy." He took her hands in his. "You are doing exceedingly well, Captain."

"Thanks. And thank you for helping me with this. I couldn't exactly go to the quartermasters," she laughed.

"No doubt the rumors would really start to fly after that sort of visit!" Phlox agreed.

Erika smiled but turned serious as a thought occurred to her. "You'll be discreet, won't you, Doctor? I mean telling everyone that it is a matter of doctor-patient confidentiality will just confirm that there is something medical going on." She bit her lip and looked at him.

"Of course. If anyone asks, I will just say I have no idea and that they should refer their comments to Columbia's chief medical officer."

"Johanna will love you for that," Erika said. "I'd better head back up to the bridge." "I'll have these ready by the end of the day and I'll have them sent to Captain Archer's quarters," Phlox said as he gave the uniform a gentle pat. Oddly enough it reminded Erika the way patted Porthos when he was begging for something he wasn't allowed to have. She turned towards the door.

"Thanks, Doc," she said, with a sly smile.

"And Captain?" he called after her.

"Hmm?"

"I know all of this is different and new for you, but let me tell you that I think you are handling it all beautifully." Erika felt herself blushing again. "And that is not just my professional opinion," Phlox added raising a finger. "Thank you." "You've already got that lovely pregnancy glow," Phlox continued as Erika rolled her eyes. "I just hope your baby doesn't inherit your propensity towards sarcasm." Erika laughed out loud. "Now on your way before someone gets suspicious," he waved Erika out of sickbay. She shook her head with a smile.

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	3. Chapter 3 - 12 weeks

Chapter 3 - 12 weeks along

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"Rike!"

"No."

"Rike….!"

"No!"

"Oh, come on, Rike!" Jon said as he rushed after his wife. "Best out of three?"

"Nope. You and Enterprise lost the coin toss fair and square," she said shaking her head. "This baby is going to born on Columbia. End of story." She turned and marched away.

"Erika! Wait, Erika!" Jon chased after her just in time to see her face split into a wide grin. He caught up and wrapped her tightly in his arms.

"You know this is all academic, don't you?" Erika sighed. "There is no way, absolutely no way that Starfleet is going to let me command this ship pregnant, let alone give birth on board."

"I know," he said, his voice muffled in her long brown hair.

"As soon we tell them, they will want me off this ship."

"Then just go back to Columbia."

"That is not what I meant and you know it," she sighed as a small laugh escaped her. "Will they be mad at us for waiting so long?"

"We had good reason," he said softly.

"We have to tell them soon. Just a few more weeks and we won't be able to keep it from any one," she whispered as she felt his hands gently holding her small but growing belly.

"Okay," he sighed.

She looked up at him, seeing the look of concern in his eyes. "Has there ever been a pregnant Starfleet Captain?" she asked.

"I think you are going to be one for the record books," he said gazing back at her.

"Jon, I know they are going to ask me to give up Columbia."

"Okay," he said, watching for signs of remorse on his wife's face, but there were none. Instead, Erika looked calm, calmer than she had seemed since they first found out about the pregnancy.

"And I've been thinking and I want to do it. I'll give up my ship if it means that our baby is going to grow up safe and healthy."

"Rike…"

"We've talked about this before. This was always the plan. We just didn't expect it to happen so soon," she said with a smile. "They need good officers back on Earth, now more than ever. And I've always wanted to teach."

He held her hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Are you sure about this? About giving up your career?"

"Yes," she said without a moment of hesitation. "This is what I want."

"I'm not sure if it is what I want. I don't want our child to grow up without her father. These missions last for several years, not to mention redeployments. It's along time, Rike," he sighed.

"We'll be all right. You'll come home when you can and I've got a few favors I can call in to come out and see you. This is just the way it is, Jon. Families have never really been welcome in Starfleet."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Jon…"

"Why the hell not?" he demanded. "Boomers are designed around the entire concept of families and the perpetuation of generations. They face the same dangers we do. Why should they be different?"

Erika folded her arms and gave him a stern look. "Jonathan Archer, if you think United Earth warp ships and privately owned cargo haulers face the same dangers then you should just resign now and save Starfleet the trouble of court martialling you." She shook her head sadly and sighed. "I know what you mean but right now it just isn't the way things are done."

"I just hate the idea of you being so far away. I want to be there, during this pregnancy, when you give birth, the late night feedings, all of it. I want our child to be right there with us as we explore. And more than anything, I want you by my side."

Erika didn't know what to say to that. She wanted all that too. But the safety of her baby was more important than that dream and it was just as simple as that. She leaned her head against Jon's shoulder as they stood in their favorite quiet alcove.

Finally, Jon spoke. "I think you are braver than I am."

"Don't I know it," she said with a smile.

"Rike, if for some reason, remote as it may be, Starfleet decides to let you stay in command throughout your pregnancy, …" he began hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Jon, but a bet is a bet," she shook her head in mock seriousness. "If the brass decides that I stay, this baby is still going to be born on Columbia."

"Oh for crying out loud!" he said as she walked back out into the hallway with a devilish smile. "Rike! Rike, wait up!" he called after her. He shook his head and smiled.


	4. Chapter 4 - 16 weeks

Chapter 4 – 16 weeks

"Trip?"

"What is it, Captain?" Trip walked over to the console Jon was leaning against.

"Trip, how solid are these bulkheads?" Jon asked, glancing at the walls. Trip eyed his captain closely. Whenever Archer had a problem that he needed to work through, he usually came to engineering to talk things over. While Trip went about his work fixing systems and checking readouts, Archer would follow along and explain what was troubling him. Trip didn't mind the company and he usually ended up putting his best friend to work welding something or another. Today though, the Captain looked a little more that worried, Trip thought as he thumped a padd lightly against his palm.

"The bulkheads? They're the best in the fleet," Trip said automatically as he climbed up onto the reactor housing.

"You trust them?" Jon followed him up the ladder.

"I trust this whole ship. She's the strongest, safest thing we've ever built." He stopped what he was doing and looked over at his friend. "What's on your mind, boss? It's not like you to doubt Enterprise."

"Erika's pregnant," Jon said quietly. Suddenly, it all made sense.

"Congratulations!" Trip said a bit too loud.

"She wants to stay on Columbia. She wants the baby born on Columbia."

"Starfleet'll never agree to that," Trip shook his head.

"No, they won't. I have a feeling they'll pull her off for shore duty in about four to five weeks. But even so, she is pregnant and a ship just like this one is all that is protecting her and the baby," Jon murmured.

"Captain," Trip said, looking him in the eye. "Columbia is like Enterprise's twin. She's a good ship, you gotta know that." He began climbing back down again as Jon followed after him. "And she's got a good crew. Can she protect your wife and child? You betcha. One of these NX ships is about the safest place you can be nowadays. Hell, the little kiddo might just like it up here."

"Maybe," Jon said, crossing his arms, "but I want my daughter to grow up with a firm planet under her feet."

Trip stopped what he was doing. "Your daughter?"

Jonathan grinned. "Dr. Metzger just confirmed it. Baby girl Archer."

"Sir, she's gonna have you wrapped around her little finger."

"Don't I know it."

"Hey, do me a favor, would you?" he handed the Captain a spanner. "Seal that joint up right there. I don't want it causing any trouble later on." He watched as Archer carefully adjusted the spanner and began moving it back and forth over the slight crack in the piping. "So you gonna get any time off when she's born?" he asked.

"Erika will get six months leave," Jon said.

"What about you?" Trip poked him in the chest.

"Only three months for me. But I'll take it."

"Then what?" Trip asked, grabbing a scanner to check the flow through the pipes.

"Then I come back out here and Rike gets another year of shore duty." Jon sighed, "Trip, do you really need to check my work?"

Trip grinned. "Sorry, sir. It's this new order from the Captain. He wants all repair jobs checked by a senior officer."

"Trip, I am the senior officer."

"Senior engineering officer, sir," Trip gave him a hearty slap on the back. "Anyways, you look like you are doing just fine. Someone must have taught you good."

"Fishing for compliments are we, Commander?" Archer said, raising his eyebrow.

"Credit where credit is due, Captain. Boy, when I first met you, you could barely hold a phase manipulator right side up without someone telling you what to do."

Jon rolled his eyes. "I was concentrating on learning how to fly these ships, not fix them."

"You were concentrating on Captain Hernandez and don't you say otherwise," Trip shook a spanner at his commanding officer and smiled. "You really are grinning like an idiot, you know that?"

"Yes, yes I do," Jon laughed.

"You are going to be the proudest papa there ever was. And she is going to be the healthiest, happiest, loveliest little baby two Starfleet Captains have ever produced."

"She might be the only baby two Starfleet Captains have ever produced, but thank you, Trip," Archer gave him a pat on the shoulder. He stood and headed back up to the bridge.

"And Captain? If there is anything you need, anything for the baby, if you need to go see Erika, whatever, I'm here for you," Trip called after him.

Jon grinned. "I swear to god, you better, because I'm not planning on getting a single thing accomplished in the next five months."

Trip stopped what he was doing and ran after Jon. "Wait a minute, five months? You mean your wife is four months pregnant and you didn't even tell me until now?" he fumed.

"She's at 16 weeks, it'll be four months in a week or so, and we wanted to make sure she was out of the woods before we started telling people," Jon explained.

"But I'm not people!"

Jon laughed, "no but you talk to people."

"Fine," he pretended to huff but he couldn't stop smiling. "Can I talk to my people now?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I tell them you are having a baby?" he said loudly.

"I think you just did." Trip glanced around to see all of his engineering crew staring at them, a couple jaws looked like they had dropped to the floor and the entire room had gone silent. Trip raised an eyebrow and glanced back at Archer.

"Well then, my work here is done," he clapped a hand on Jon's shoulder. "Congrats, Cap'n" he said as he tried to quickly make his way back up to the reactor controls.

"Thanks, Trip," Jon sighed, putting his head in his hand. Trip was guessing that this wasn't the way the Captains were planning on breaking the news to the crews. He had a feeling that Erika would not be too happy with him or his big mouth. "Hey Trip?" Uh oh, he thought.

"Yeah?" he poked his head out around the ladder.

"Godfather?" Jon asked with a grin.

"Don't you know it!" Trip said with a smile.

"Thanks. We've been meaning to ask you about that for some time," Jon said turning to leave.

"For about 15 weeks?" Trip called after him.

"Something like that," Jon shrugged.

"Of course, Captain," Trip put his hand over his heart. "I would be honored."

"Good. Thanks, Trip. I'll see you later."


	5. Chapter 5 - 20 weeks

Chapter 5 – 20 weeks

"You got everything?" he asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes, wait no," she said as she began hurriedly digging through her bag.

"What, what is it?"

"Oh shoot!" she sighed as she walked over to the dresser.

"Rike…"

"Where is it?" she said frantically, her hair falling in her face as she scanned his quarters.

"Erika, what are you looking for?" he folded his arms across his chest.

She gingerly bent down and picked up Porthos in her arms. "This guy!" she said grinning.

"You are not taking my dog home with you." He gave her a look.

"Then stop asking me if I have everything."

"Deal."

Several hours later, she was standing in his quarters, her suitcase backed and ready to go. They were supposed to be in the shuttle bay already. Enterprise had docked with the shipyards and it was time for her to head down to the surface. Only neither of them made any move to leave.

All of the important matters had been taken care of. Erika had transferred off Columbia two days prior before the ship had headed to their rendezvous with the newly launched USS Challenger and Erika's replacement. Enterprise, due for maintenance and a computer systems overhaul, had warped back to Earth carrying one pregnant officer. Starfleet had officially requested that Captain Hernandez return to San Francisco for shore duty and her eventual maternity leave.

They were both a little frazzled today, between the stress of her departure and the fact that he wouldn't be getting any leave time during their stay in the sol system. Enterprise would be leaving for Jupiter Station by the end of the day and from there it was back out to their patrol routes. At least her husband would have something to do. She wasn't sure what to expect with her new assignment but she knew that it would not be enough to keep her mind off of her husband and how much she wished that he could be there with her.

"I'm going to miss you," she said softly and she leaned into him. She felt his arms wrap around her, holding her securely to his chest.

"Well of course you are."

"And?" she prompted.

"Oh, come on, Rike. You already know that I am going to miss you more than anything." He cupped her face in his hands. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep at all without you tossing and turning each night and waking up every two hours to go to the bathroom," he laughed kissing her on the forehead.

"And you think I'll be able to sleep without you throwing that water polo ball around every night?" It was true, she thought. She had gotten used to falling asleep while Jon was still working, occasionally bouncing the ball off of the ceiling or the bulkheads whenever he needed to take a break. The gentle thumping had become as much a part of her time with her husband as anything else aboard his ship. She had been lucky, she thought. Enterprise and Columbia had stayed relatively close during the past few months, never more than a sector away. She got to see Jon almost every other week and always when their ships met up she would spend the night on Enterprise. She was going to miss that. She looked up at her husband. There were a lot of things she was going to miss and by the look on his face she could tell that there was a lot that he was going to miss too.

"I'm going to miss holding you in my arms while you sleep," he said with a sigh, reading her mind. "I'm going to miss seeing your belly grow with each week and month. I'm going to miss pampering you and taking care of you." She rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. "Yes, I'm going to miss holding your hair back when you are sick and forcing you to eat when you really don't want to," he added with a grin.

"I'm going to miss waking up in your arms," she said as she nestled in closer. "I'm going to miss when you called every night Columbia was out on a mission. I'm going to miss how you already love this baby." She felt her voice begin to tremble as her tears began to slide down her face. "I'm going to miss you when you aren't there at night, and when you aren't there to help me out of a chair when I am too big to move!" She tried to laugh. "I'm going to miss you at every doctors appointment and when they finally put me on leave."

He brushed the tears away from her cheeks and buried his face in her hair. "I'm going to be there when you have this baby, Rike. I'm going to be there, come hell or high water."

"I'm going to miss your determination," she smiled as she shook her head.

"I'm going to miss your sarcasm." They stood together for the longest time, thinking about more things about each other that they would acutely notice the absence of, but neither saying anything. Finally, he picked up her suitcase and together they walked arm in arm down to the shuttle bay.

"Trip?" Erika called as they walked into the bay. Trip turned from the shuttle he was prepping.

"Yeah?"

"Keep an eye on him, would you?"

"Yes ma'am," Trip said in all seriousness. He looked Erika straight in the eye but soon she began laughing. "Y'know, I think you are a very brave woman leaving this man in charge of this ship all on his own." He looked over at Archer.

"Yes, yes I am," she shrugged with a smile. "He's done it before, you know."

"You've seen those mission files. There were a lot of moments out there when we really could have used some…"

"Trip!" Jon groaned.

"…help," Trip finished but Erika had a feeling that hadn't been what he was planning to say.

"Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, Trip, like buy himself an Orion slave girl or accidentally get married," she shook her head disparagingly. "I'm stuck on shore duty and I'm pregnant, I don't want to hear that I've some how become a part of a Denobulan marriage."

Trip laughed as Jon gave his wife a look. "Don't you worry about him, ma'am. I won't let him get into trouble."

"And Jon, make sure Trip doesn't blow up this ship," she turned to her husband, nodding in the chief engineer's direction.

"Now wait a minute, Erika…" Trip began. "Just because that one time…"

"Oh Trip, I'm going to miss you," she said pulling him into a hug, catching him off guard. "Take good care of this ship and my husband. I'm going to need him in about four and a half months."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Archer," Trip gave her a wink.

She turned back to her husband. Jon wrapped his arms around her sweeping her into an all-enveloping hug. They stood there, just for a moment, safe in each other's arms and not worrying about anything else.

"Jon, I love you so much," she finally whispered.

"Please, please do not go into labor until I'm back," he said.

"Jon!"

"I love you too."

###


	6. Chapter 6 - 25 weeks

Chapter 6 – 25 weeks

A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. As always, please read and review! Also, I'm looking for name suggestions for Baby Girl Archer. Current favorite is Adalie. What do you think?

###

"Call for you coming in, Captain. It's your wife," Trip's voice came over the comm system, and Jon could almost hear the smile in his voice. "You want me to send it to your quarters?"

"You got it," he said. Trip knew the drill; hell, everyone on the ship knew the drill. A moment later, Erika's face appeared on his computer screen.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey yourself," she smiled.

"Rike…"

Erika sighed. "I know, I know. Profile shot." Gingerly, he could see her stand up from where she was sitting at his old desk. She said she had started using it now that she was actually living in their home. She told him that it made her feel like she was connected to him when she did her work there. Now she stood next to it, her body parallel to her computer.

Jon felt his jaw drop. "Oh my goodness, you've gotten big!" he said, his eyes tracing the clearly rounded swell of her belly. There was no doubting it now, Erika was pregnant. He could sense the tension in her shoulders as her body adjusted to the new weight of the baby. Her hips and her back had a gentle curve to them and her whole body seemed fuller. She was glowing. But most importantly, she was actually wearing maternity clothes. For the first couple of months, she had hidden her pregnancy under loose-fitting clothes, even going so far as to borrow some of his shirts. But she couldn't hide her bump any longer. The soft tunic she wore fit just a little too snuggly around her stomach and he chuckled to himself as he caught sight of the elastic-waist pants that Erika had been complaining about before.

She smiled back at him, one hand resting on her lower back and the other on her belly. "Can I sit down now?"

"Yes, of course. You just look so beautiful, Rike. I still can't believe it." He shook his head. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," she said as she settled herself back into the chair. "She's been keeping me up a lot at night. I think she is trying to play water polo like her daddy." Jon beamed proudly. "How are things going out there?" she asked.

"It's quiet for once. We're taking up your old patrol route and Columbia is scheduled to leave Proxima soon." He saw a flicker of understanding in his wife's eyes. Columbia was still her ship to both of them, even if she wasn't in command any more. Every time Columbia's new captain filed a position report, Jon found himself wishing that Erika was still on board and that he would be getting to see her soon. He missed her. God, he missed her more than anything.

"And how is our first born?" Erika said with a small smile.

"He's fine. He's been sneaking bits of cheese every now and then." He glanced down to where Porthos lay at his feet. "He misses you and bumping into your belly."

She laughed. "I miss waking up with him resting his head on my chest."

"Looking longingly into your eyes?"

"I'd have to pick him up if I wanted to get out of the bed."

"I know," he tried to frown. "You would always dump him on top of me!"

"You both loved it," she said with a grin.

He reached down and picked up their dog. "Here, Porthos. Want to talk to mom?" He held Porthos in front of the computer and the dog began to look at the screen slightly puzzled.

"Hi Porthos," Erika said. The dog stared at the image and then glanced back at Jon for an explanation. They had tried to teach Porthos how to video chat with them but it always seemed to confuse him.

"He says hi and hi to the baby."

"Oh, Jon. You are hopeless," Erika shook her head and sighed. "This is another one of those 'love me, love my dog' things."

"We'll be coming home soon," he said, setting the dog down again.

"I know," she said, rubbing her belly. "I'm counting the days. Anything special you would like to do?"

"You mean besides spend every single moment with my pregnant wife?"

"Yes, besides that," she crossed her arms across her chest and gave him a look. "We could go out to dinner, go up to the cabin, …"

"…go rock climbing?"

"Jonathan!"

"I just want to stay in, rent a few movies, sleep late…"

"…wake up with the dog on your chest…" she added.

"And feel the baby move. I haven't really gotten to do that yet," he said. When Erika had left for Earth, she was just starting to feel the fluttering of movement inside her but it hadn't been strong enough for Jon or anyone on the outside to feel.

"I know," she said softly. "In that case, I think we should go out for Thai food. She's always really active after I eat something spicy."

"Really?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. I think she must like it. Either that or she is trying to tell me something. She isn't a fan of Starfleet cafeteria food." Erika grimaced.

"Who is?" he shook his head in agreement. "How is flying a desk?"

Erika sat back in her chair and stretched her back. "Quieter. Not as frantic. There isn't the same sense that every day we are making history."

He searched her face for a hint of regret. "Do you miss it? Being out here?"

"Sometimes," she admitted. "But not as often as you would think. I had a good couple of years with Columbia, but we've always know that it wasn't what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my career."

"You always wanted to be the one who called the shots back home," he offered.

"Damn straight," she laughed.

It was true, though. Erika had always been a big picture person. That was what made her such a brilliant tactician. She could see things that other people would forget to even consider and she could see how events would play out down the road. It was one of the many things that he valued about his wife; whenever he would get stuck in the details of a particular issue, she could always make him step back and gain a little perspective on the situation. She had a way of grounding him that no one else had and he knew it came from the calm confidence that Erika carried within her. She wasn't one to second-guess or dwell on things for too long. She was a brilliant multi-tasker and more often than not, her first impressions were dead on. Erika liked to say that it was how she had known she would marry him when they first met. He liked to say it was how she knew to put up with him during the Warp 5 trials; eventually, she knew he would be worth it.

"I'm taking off work while you are here on leave," she said, bringing him back to the present. "I've got a little extra leniency, being pregnant and all."

"Good. You look so beautiful, Rike." She blushed and he could tell that she hadn't been feeling beautiful lately. Early in the pregnancy, she had been pale and sick nearly every day. But now as her belly grew, her cheeks turned rosy and she always had a smile on her face. "You do, Rike. It really suits you, being pregnant and all."

"Don't get any ideas," she warned.

"What?" he said innocently.

"Don't 'what' me. I know that look."

"That 'let's have enough children to have our own water polo team' look?" he asked.

"Something like that," Erika said but she couldn't help but smile.

Jon shook his head. "Let's just see how this first one goes, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed.

He glanced at the clock and sighed. "Rike, I have to…"

"I know," she said. She kissed her hand and then held it up to the screen. "I love you."

He placed his hand on the screen before touching it to his lips. "I love you too." He held his hand back up to the screen and gazed at his wife and her swollen belly. "Please don't have the baby until I get home."


	7. Chapter 7 - 28 weeks

Chapter 7 – 28 weeks 

Jon raced down the corridor, dodging repair workers who scrambled out of the way and stared after their captain. What on earth had she been doing out there, he thought to himself.

"Doctor!" he called as he rushed into sickbay. He saw Phlox moving from patient to patient, triaging the situation before moving on to the next person. He didn't see Erika. _Oh god, _he thought. _Why isn't she here yet?_

Phlox signaled him over to one of the screened off biobeds. "Captain," he nodded at Archer.

"Where is she?" he asked. "Phlox, where is my wife?"

"She is over here," Phlox said gesturing behind the curtain. "I should warn you, Captain, we very nearly lost her." Jon felt his chest tighten as the doctor handed him a chart listing everything that was wrong with Erika. "We have her stabilized for now, but I'll need to keep a close eye on her. "

"Phlox, what about the baby?" Jon said softly.

"I've given Captain Hernandez several injections in the hopes of holding off early labor but we shall have to see. It does not look good, Captain."

"Does Erika know?"

"Not yet."

"May I tell her?"

"Go right ahead."

Jon pulled back the curtain and looked at his wife. She was laying on the bed, her face pale and her hair a tangled mess that had once been a ponytail. Her uniform was torn and burned, revealing her scarred body. Her belly, curved with child, rose and fell with each labored breath she took. Wires and tubes were placed all over her body that connected her to an infinite number of monitors that all seemed to be blinking warning sounds. Jon closed the curtain and walked over to the side of the bed. He gently reached out and held her hand.

"Rike?" he whispered. Erika's eyes fluttered open.

"Jon?" she asked softly, her voice hoarse and trembling.

"I'm here. Your safe now, on Enterprise." He began stroking her hair, brushing it back from her face.

"Jon, the baby…." she gasped, trying to reach down to make sure that their daughter was still there.

"She's fine," Jon sighed but he knew Erika could sense he was holding something back. "Rike, Phlox thinks that because of the trauma… there is a chance you'll go into labor early. He's given you some drugs to prevent that but we have to be prepared."

Erika closed her eyes for a moment as she leaned back. "Oh gods," she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks.

Jon waited a moment before asking the question he had been dying to ask since he first heard the distress signal. "What happened, Rike?"

"It was a minefield. We didn't realize until to late," she said shakily. "One of them latched on to the starboard nacelle and detonated. The core breached before we could send out a disarming team. There was an explosion on the bridge, I don't remember…" she blinked as the tears began to blur her vision. "What are the casualty reports?"

"Still coming in," he said. "We think you lost six officers."

Erika let out a choked sob. "Do we know who yet?"

"Engineers who didn't get out in time before the blast doors went down," he brushed a tear off her cheek with his thumb. "Phlox and Johanna have set up a makeshift hospital in here and we are transferring everyone off Columbia until we can lock down the coolant leaks and the reactor breaches. Trip says it could be almost a week before she is under her own power again."

"And you found us?" she whispered with a sad smile.

Suddenly, before Jon could answer, the monitors all around them began beeping as Erika's vital signs flashed red. He saw her eyes close and her hand fell out of his. A chill swept over his entire body. Within seconds, he had been pushed to the side as the doctor and nurses crowded around the biobed.

"We're losing her!"

"Erika! Erika!" he cried as he heard the monitors hold a steady tone and then go silent. "Oh gods, Erika!" 

Jonathan Archer woke up. He was shaking, covered in sweat and his throat felt raw as if he had been shouting. He reached a hand out to feel for his wife but her side of the bed was empty. He froze. No, he thought. This was right. Erika was back on Earth. She was on maternity leave. She wasn't on Columbia. She was safe.

He sat up, his mind still reeling from the nightmare. That was all it had been, he thought, just a dream. A horrible dream that had seemed so frighteningly real that he could hardly breathe. He ran his hand through his hair and rubbed his face in an effort to shake the eerie awfulness but he couldn't. Slowly he made his way over to his computer and hit the comm panel.

"Bridge, Tucker here," The voice on the other end of the line was calm and reassuring.

"Trip, can you raise my wife on the line for me?" Jon asked, trying to keep the residual shakiness out of his voice.

"Sure thing, Captain. I'll have it sent to your quarters as soon as we get connected."

"Thanks, Archer out." He sat down at the computer console and waited. It felt like it took forever for the connection to be established and even longer before he could open the transmission. Finally, the Starfleet logo was replaced by the image of the one person he wanted to see more than anything in the universe.

"Hi Jon," Erika said, stifling a yawn. "Do you have any idea what time it is here?" She gave him a look as she folded her arms across her chest. She was wearing a pair of loose pants and an old Stanford t-shirt that seemed barely large enough to cover her burgeoning belly.

"I'm sorry, Rike," he muttered. "I couldn't sleep."

"So you decided you wanted to share that with me?" She raised an eyebrow then stopped. He felt her gaze lock on to his face and instantly she knew something was wrong. "Jon?" she asked quietly.

"I was dreaming about you again," he said shakily. "I just had to see your face."

"Oh, Jon. What happened?" Instinctively, she placed both her hands on her belly.

"It was just like all the other ones. You were in sickbay, again. There had been an attack on Columbia and we found you… you were barely conscious." He tried to keep his voice level and steady as he spoke but he could see already that Erika's eyes were welling up with tears. "I walked in and Phlox had you off all by yourself… so we could have a little privacy as we were saying goodbye, but it all happened too fast. You slipped away before…"

"And the baby?" He could tell she was afraid to ask.

He shook his head.

"Oh my darling," she gasped. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Jon." He wanted nothing more than to reach across the light-years and hold her in his harms. "It was just a dream," she said, trying to comfort him. "Everyone is okay." She patted her belly for emphasis. "Jon, I'm fine," she reassured him. "The baby is fine. That type of scenario is exactly why we did what we did."

"Why you are there and not here," he said in a resigned tone.

"Yes," she nodded. "Jon, look at me." He met her gaze and looked deep into her brown eyes. He was struck by how simply beautiful she was, even in the middle of the night. Her hair was only slightly tousled and her eyes were bright. She radiated confidence and just seeing her gave him a calming sense of peace that he hadn't felt in days.

"I'm just fine. And so is your daughter. She is kicking again; just like she did the last time she heard your voice. I think she misses you."

"I miss her too," he touched the screen near Erika's belly. "I'm sorry about this, Rike. The whole thing just shook me up. I can't imagine what I do if anything happened to you."

"You don't have to," she said with a warm smile. "I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon. Now, tell me. Are you at least having any good dreams about me?" she asked.

He smiled as he began to feel like himself again. "All my dreams are about you. And you are always pregnant," he laughed as he heard her groan. "Do you dream about me?"

"What do you think?" she said, her eyes sparkling in the dim light.

"Every night?" he guessed.

"Every night," she nodded. "Sometimes I wake up and I can't remember where I am because you aren't here."

"I did that just now," he admitted. Now that fear that something had happened to her had turned to sadness that she was so far away.

"I can't wait until you come home again," she sighed. Two weeks ago he had been home on leave but right now it felt like ages ago.

"Me neither." He watched as Erika winced and placed a hand on her belly, no doubt trying to soothe his restless daughter. "Go get some sleep, Rike."

"You too," she yawned distractedly.

"I love you," he said. "And please…"

"I know, I know. Don't have the baby until you get home."

"Goodnight, Rike."


	8. Chapter 8 - 30 weeks

Chapter 8 - 30 weeks

Erika sat at the computer and waited. She traced a finger along the edge of the old wooden desk. She was worried about her husband. The last few times they had talked he seemed distracted and then there were those nightmares. She had always assumed that their separation during her pregnancy would be harder on her but it was looking like he was the one struggling. She was home and safe and had their friends to rely on. She never seemed to find herself alone because it seemed that there was a constant stream of officers between postings who would just come over to keep her company.

They had thrown her a lovely baby shower the day before and now, as she waited for the call to come through, she was folding outfit after outfit of adorable baby clothes. Everyone knew she was having a girl; one of her coworkers at Starfleet Headquarters had made a huge banner that read "Welcome Baby Girl Archer!" It still hung in the living room. She wanted to leave it up until Jon got home to see it. She had missed him terribly at the shower, although everyone tried to tell her that husbands never came to baby showers even if they were in the same solar system but it didn't matter. She wanted him there with her. She wanted him to help her keep track of all the gifts and to help her write thank you notes and for gods sakes she wanted him to help her find a place to put all of it!

But she knew he would be home soon. He would get his three months of time off once the baby was born and then they could decide what they were going to do next. Although she missed him, she was enjoying her work and being stationed on Earth. Jon on the other hand, wasn't ready to give up his dream of exploration, but she had a feeling the impending birth of their baby was making him think twice about it.

Her friends and colleagues seemed to think that she would be spending all her time off thinking about how much she missed her husband and how dangerous his mission was. The first part was true. She missed Jon more than anything; without him, she felt incomplete, like there was a part of her heart she just couldn't access. Their nightly phone calls (whenever Enterprise was in range) was her saving grace. Just to see his face every night and to hear his voice made it all worthwhile. Jon, on the other hand, was truly struggling. Or at least that is what her informant would probably tell her.

Finally, Trip's face appeared on the screen. "Captain Hernandez," he started. "Is there something I can do for you? I'm sure Captain Archer will want to talk with you just as soon as…."

"No, it's all right," she said. "I didn't call to talk with my husband, Trip. I called to talk to you."

"Really?" Trip gave her a look that was a perfect mix of confused and honored. "Well then…"

"How are you doing, Commander?" she asked.

"Oh me?" he shrugged. "I can't complain. How are you, Erika?"

"Pregnant," she huffed.

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything but now that you brought it up… Gosh, Erika, you've gotten huge!" he gawked.

"Thank you, Trip."

"I mean, well, you know what I mean," he tried to recover.

"You are worse than Jon," she shook her head with a smile.

Trip stared at her. "You mean he turns into a bumbling fool around pregnant women?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"Huh," Trip sat back and crossed his arms across his chest, a satisfied grin on his face. "Well, I may have to use this information." Jon would probably kill her for revealing that information but she supposed it would be perfect payback for him telling Trip and _all of engineering _that she was pregnant.

Erika bit her lip and adjusted her growing frame in her chair. The baby seemed to be able to sense her mother's worry and gave a particularly painful kick. She shifted her weight again and began rubbing her belly in the hopes of calming the little one down.

"Trip, how is he?" she asked quietly.

"He nearly knocked me over with that stupid ball of his," he muttered.

"You didn't try to interrupt him while he was thinking, did you?"

"All I did was ask him about a duty roster change-up and the next thing I know that damn thing was flying at me like I'd talked about his sister," Trip complained.

Erika sympathized with her husband's chief engineer. She'd been there, accidentally walking into Jon's office when he was deep in thought and throwing his old water polo ball against the bulkheads. She'd had to duck to avoid the rebound. There was something about that simple motion of throwing that ball that gave Jon that little bit of peace necessary to think through really complex matters. More often than not, he got his brightest ideas by doing that. A good third of the time he just ended up breaking things.

"Did he at least apologize?" she asked hopefully.

"If you call dinner and making me watch the latest Stanford game an apology then yes." Trip ran his hand through his hair then stopped and looked at her. "He misses you, Erika. More than he even knows. Oh sure, he's mopey and nothing really excites him the way a call from you does, but he won't admit it."

"I had a feeling," she admitted.

"I think he is worried about how he is going to be able to do this once he has a wife and a child back on Earth. I'd put good money it," Trip said with a shrug. "Forgive me if I'm overstepping, but I think he might need to hear from you that you want him to continue doing all this," he gestured around to the ship, "that is, if you still want him to continue doing all this."

"I do, Trip. I really do," she said with a sad smile. "You remember Jon back during the Warp 5 project. This was all he talked about. It was his life's goal and it was his father's legacy. I knew when I married him that this was part of it." She shook her head and brushed a loose lock of hair from her face. "I just didn't think that he had forgotten that I had agreed to it all."

"He's an idiot sometimes, ma'am."

"Yes he is," she agreed with a laugh, but her husband wasn't really dumb; he was just too idealistic for his own good. He seemed to think that with Starfleet up and running and warp engines becoming more powerful every day, the entire culture of Earth's military and exploration forces would change. He wanted her out there with him and he couldn't seem to understand the fact that it was probably best for her and their unborn child not to be. Or maybe his subconscious did, she shuddered remembering the last nightmare that he told her.

"Trip, I really appreciate you talking to me like this. I know it probably wasn't the easiest thing to do."

"No problem, Captain," he said. "Any time you need to talk, I'm here. Besides, you did ask me to keep an eye on him for you so I figured this was just a part of the job."

"You're a good man, Trip Tucker."

"Tell that to him when you talk to him?" Trip asked with a raised eyebrow. Erika laughed.

"Speaking of…" she began.

"I'll put you through to him right now," Trip said. "And Erika?"

"Hmm?"

"Show him some of that baby stuff that seems to be taking over your living room. I think he'd like to see it," Trip glanced at the piles of clothes, diapers, blankets and toys behind where she sat.

"Oh I will!" Erika said with a laugh. "Thanks, Trip."

"You betcha. Tucker out."


	9. Chapter 9 - 38 weeks

Chapter 9 – 38 weeks

He was home. She couldn't believe it. In a matter of moments he would be there and she would be able to hold him in her arms, finally. There were long nights when she felt like they would never get here, when it seemed as if their separation was going to be a permanent part of their lives. She had almost begun to accept that as a part of life. But she never really could.

They had told her that his ship was delayed in coming home but they hadn't told her why. The last time she had spoke to him he was preparing to take Enterprise on a speed run to the Romulan border. It took all her willpower not to beg him to give the assignment to another captain, anyone but her husband. But she didn't. He didn't need her telling him how dangerous the mission would be. Officially, Jon was going to patrol the front lines. Unofficially, he was going to search for their sister ship, Challenger, which hadn't reported in after its scheduled three-day espionage cruise. Everyone feared the worst, and so reluctantly, Starfleet ordered its best negotiator to see what had happened and, as a last resort, arrange for a return of the remains.

That had been almost two weeks ago. Jon had told her that he wouldn't be able to call her until things were all settled and he was far away from the borderlands but every night she sat by the computer just in case. She went through the motions at work, analyzing reports that came in and keeping up-to-date on new developments in their ever-broadening interstellar alliance. At home, she made sure that the baby's room was ready and had her brother come over to help assemble the crib. But inside, she worried.

Finally, the day came that every wife of a captain secretly dreads. Erika looked up from her desk to see Admiral Gardner standing in her office doorway, his arms folded across his chest and his brow furrowed.

"Admiral," she began, as she slowly rose to her feet, "what can I do for you?"

"Sit down, Erika."

She obeyed and watched as he took the chair nearest to her and sat down. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine, sir," she said quietly.

"You know you can always take time off right now if you need to," he said distractedly, gazing around her office at the pictures of her and her husband.

"Sam, what's going on?"

"We've lost contact with Enterprise, Erika." Gardner leaned forward and reached out a hand to grasp one of Erika's now trembling ones.

"Jon's been on radio silence for the last few days, maybe…" she began.

"No," he shook his head. "We had several check-ins scheduled and he has missed them all. None of our nearby ships can contact him. Based on the facts we have right now, we have to assume that they were destroyed."

"No. No, Sam. It can't be that simple," she shook her head vehemently.

"Nothing has been officially established yet but we need to be prepared for this outcome." He sighed as he studied her closely. "Go home, Erika. We will call you when we know something."

It was another 36 hours before Enterprise finally checked in, safe and sound. Sam Gardner had run down the hall from his office to tell her, but he wouldn't let her talk to Jon. Enterprise had checked in but they still were not in safe space and all non-essential communication was restricted. They were beginning their run back to Earth and Erika was counting the days until they returned.

Only, they weren't on schedule.

"He's on his way," Gardner had assured her.

"That is what you said two days ago," she said with a huff.

"The Romulan border is a long way away, Erika. It takes time…"

"That is bullshit, Sam, and you know it. Why isn't Jon here now?" she demanded.

"I can't tell you," Gardner said politely.

"I have the same clearance as any of the NX captains. If something happened to one of those ships, I have ever right to know."

"Yes, but spouses don't have the same rights," he said, putting a hand on each of her shoulders. "There is a protocol for this, Erika. There is an established time when we tell the families that we suspect something has gone wrong. You know this just as I do. I can't bend the rules for you," he sighed. "We know he left the border. He finally made contact and I told you when he did. Now we are just waiting for him to enter our sensor range."

"He should have done that days ago."

"There is no 'should' in space travel, Erika," he said shaking his head. "None of this is safe, none of this is a guarantee. Once we know something definite, I promise I will tell you. Enterprise has been declared delayed for arrival. That is all." He turned and headed back down the hallway.

"Sam?" she called after him.

"Yes?" he turned around warily.

"What do you think happened?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"I don't know."

She had stormed off after that and headed back to her office where she promptly collapsed on the couch sobbing. She sat there for gods knows how long until she looked up and saw Sam standing in her doorway again.

"Sam, if you have come to tell me that my husband is dead, please turn around and tell me another day," she said, her voice shaking. "I don't think I could handle anything more today."

"He's alive, Erika," Sam said with a tired smile, as he sat down with her on the couch. "Jon is just fine. They ran into some trouble with another one of those stealth ships. Luckily, our old friend Commander Shran showed up just in time, again."

"Oh gods, Jon's okay?" she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"He's on his way home right now. They should be in the system by tomorrow afternoon." Sam stood and then helped her to her feet. "Go get some rest, Erika. Your husband will be home soon. And then you can finally have this baby!" he said has he placed a hand on her belly.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, Sam. Thank you so much." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the office.

And now, finally, finally, Enterprise was home. They docked in orbit and the crew went through one last medical check before shuttling down to the surface where everyone was waiting. Erika stood behind Sam and the rest of the admirals, all eagerly waiting to see Jonathan Archer and his crew with their own eyes and to know once and for all that they were safely home. Her eyes watched the shuttle pods as they began landing on the platform and Starfleet blue uniforms began pouring out. She searched for her husband, but didn't see him. Finally, the last shuttled touched down and her doors swung open. And there he was.

He saw her almost instantly and began running to where she stood. She laughed with tears in her eyes as she watched her husband hurry past admirals and technicians, all trying to get his attention, but he ignored everyone.

"Rike!" he called out.

She held up a hand and waved. She briefly wondered if he understood why she wasn't running to meet him. She held her burgeoning belly protectively in her arms.

"Rike!" he said again as he ran up to her, sweeping her into a hug and lifting her up in his arms. "I can't believe it. I can't believe I'm actually home," he whispered as he kissed her.

"You're home, Jon."


	10. Chapter 10 - 40 weeks

Chapter 10 – 40 weeks

A/N: this one in particular is for the lovely BonesBird who helped me weave a whole mess of ideas into an actual chapter. Thank you! 3 Amelia

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"Hi."

"Hey there."

"Everything all settled at the debrief?" she asked slowly easing herself onto the couch. She could feel his gaze on her, lingering as he watched her rest her hands on her belly. She wondered if he saw what she did every morning; the lines around her eyes, the dark circles, the fullness to her face, her swollen ankles, her sore back. She was huge and ungainly, her walk having taken on a waddle a few weeks ago. She saw all of this when she caught sight of herself in a mirror. But she had a feeling it wasn't what Jon saw.

"Oh yeah, it went fine," he said, sitting down next to her. She leaned her head against his shoulders.

"So you're done?" she asked quietly.

"For the next three months."

She grinned. "Now you are all mine."

"I wouldn't want it any other way." He turned to her and pretended to be serious. "So, Erika," he began.

"Yes?" she raised an eyebrow.

"How have things been? Seen any good movies?"

She laughed as he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. It had become a joke of theirs long ago that he would always ask when he got home if she had gone to see any movies without him. She had almost forgotten about it this time, with the all day debriefings for Jon and the baby preparations for her, and the over all excitement of having him home for the first time in so long. She couldn't really remember how it started, but then again, she had what Trip had generously referred to as "pregnancy brain." Her memory and her ability to quickly analyze a situation seemed to have gone out the window when the third trimester started. Jon thought it was hilarious. He loved to play a game where he would try to guess the word she was searching for. It always ended with her in a fit of giggles and Jon reminding her not to have the baby until he got home.

But now he was here. He was home. She didn't have to worry about him missing anything. She was ready. She dropped her gaze to her swollen stomach and sighed. Well, she thought, one of us is ready.

She'd been having false contractions the night before and had just managed to fall back asleep when Jon woke up suddenly. He had had a brilliant idea about the baby's middle name. At two in the morning, her husband, decorated Starfleet captain and renowned diplomat, had decided that their daughter's middle name should be Columbia. Erika had just stared at him, stunned that he would think it was a good idea to name a person after a starship, stunned that he felt the need to wake her at that ungodly hour and stunned that the next words out of his mouth were, "and the next kid'll be Enterprise!"

She had only raised an eyebrow and simply said, "Good night, Jon," before turning over and going back to bed. Jon hadn't brought up baby girl Columbia Archer again.

Now she looked at him as his hands lovingly caressed her belly, feeling their restless unborn daughter's movements. Finally he looked up at her.

"You never answered my question," he said.

"About the movies?" she sighed.

"Yes about the movies," he feigned exasperation.

"No, I didn't go see anything. To tell you the truth, we've all been holding our breath, wondering if the war was going to touch Earth again. And now that things have settled down, there's been a whole flurry of weddings and babies."

"I can see that!" he laughed as the baby gave her father a strong kick. "I was so sure you would have popped by now."

"You and everyone else," Erika rolled her eyes. "My due date is tomorrow. The doctors here are convinced that I was doing everything I could not to go into labor until you got home."

"You didn't…" he started incredulously.

"I couldn't! Luckily, this little one waited. I couldn't imagine what I was going to do if…"

He pressed a finger to her lips. "Never mind all that. I'm home now. And you can tell this one that she can come anytime now," he bent down to kiss her belly. "Her daddy isn't going anywhere for a long time."

Erika smiled and looked to see their dog watching them intently. "Jon, I think you are making someone jealous," she said, nodding her head at Porthos.

"Come on, buddy," Jon patted the couch next to him, but Porthos jumped straight into his lap.

Erika leaned down to rub those little doggy ears. Admittedly, she hadn't been much of dog fan before she met Jon, but now she couldn't imagine her life with out this guy constantly chasing after them. During their separation, she found herself missing hearing the clattering of paws on their old wooden floors or waking up to see that someone had found his way onto the bed complete with his favorite chew toy. Again, she could feel Jon watching as she rubbed Porthos's belly and let him lick her face. She stopped and looked up at him.

"What are you thinking?" she said. She knew that look.

"That we should get another dog," he said, giving Porthos a squeeze.

She gave him a funny look. "Why?"

"Because I know you miss him and once my three months are up, you'll need someone to keep you company," he scratched the dog right behind his front legs, his favorite spot.

"You don't want to leave this one behind with me?" she said, rubbing her nose to their dogs and letting him lick her solidly.

"We went over this when we got married. I have solo custody over the first born," he shook his head in mock seriousness and smiled. "That's why I thought another puppy might be a good idea…"

"A puppy? Jon, I'm going to have a newborn. The last thing I'll need when you are gone is another little one."

"Come on, Rike. Another one, just like this one?" He held Porthos in front of her and she swore the dog was giving her his best 'cute face'.

She folded her arms across her belly. "Maybe. Can we think about it after this one," she rubbed her belly, "makes her grand entrance?"

"Okay," he agreed.

She watched him playing with their dog for a little while and thought about what a wonderful father her husband would make. She watched him until finally she realized what she had wanted to say before.

"You want to get another dog so that you can named it Athos, don't you?"

"Maybe."

"I love you, you know that?" she smiled.


	11. Chapter 11 - 40 weeks, 5 hours

Chapter 11 – 40 weeks, 5 hours later

"Jon….."

She waited to see if he would respond. He didn't. She tried again.

"Jon," she said a little louder.

"Hmmmffh?"

"Jon, wake up."

"Rike?"

"Jon, she's coming." 

###


	12. Chapter 12 - Epilogue

Epilogue

"Well aren't you the cutest little thing that ever was," Trip said as he looked down at the sleeping baby in his arms. "She's gonna be a heartbreaker, that's for sure." He looked back up at the baby's parents. Jon and Erika were sitting on the couch together; Jon had one leg folded across the other and Erika had her head resting on his shoulder and both legs tucked up under her. They looked exhausted. Absolutely exhausted.

From what they had told him, their little bundle of joy was not doing a very good job of sleeping at night. But gods they looked happy. Trip didn't think he had ever seen his best friend smile so much in his entire life. Okay, maybe at his wedding, but still there was nothing that could compare to the look of absolute contentment on Jonathan Archer's face.

Erika too looked as though motherhood was agreeing with her. She looked relaxed, Trip thought, even for all the excitement and stress of a new baby. He had known how worried she was about Jon and about having the baby without him. Now that everything had turned out just right he was glad to see her so happy.

And then there was the little girl in his arms. His goddaughter. Jon had called him from the hospital to let him know that on February 13th at 1835 hours, Adalie Matilda Archer was born, weighing 6 lbs, 7 oz. She was the most beautiful baby he had ever seen and that included his sister. She had soft brown hair and could already curl her hand into a little fist around your finger if you held it near her. She had her father's eyes and her mother's smile.

"Hey there, little Adalie," he cooed quietly to the baby as he watched her face intently.

"She's on her best behavior for you," Jon smiled.

"Oh yeah?"

"If it was anyone else, I'm sure she'd be screaming right now."

"Captain, she's perfect. Absolutely perfect."

"Thanks, Trip."

"So, how are things going out there?" Erika asked.

"Oh fine, you know. Getting used to your replacements," Trip said with a shrug. "Yours is alright, Erika. Green but she'll manage. But yours, Captain…" Trip shook his head with mock seriousness.

"Not up to snuff?" Jon asked raising an eyebrow.

"Let's just say I'm glad I'm on Columbia for the next six months." Trip leaned down to stroke the baby's cheek with his finger.

Jon sighed and looked over to his infant daughter. Trip could tell what he was thinking. Three months leave wasn't enough time, not nearly enough time to spend with his daughter and his wife before he would be thrown back into space.

The baby began to whimper and Trip gratefully handed her back to Erika. "I brought something for you guys," he said as he bent down to pick up a small gift bag.

"Trip, you didn't…" Jon began as Trip handed him the bag.

"It's just a little something that the young'un might like." Trip watched as Jon carefully unwrapped the gift. Inside was a bundle of deep blue cloth.

"What is it?" Jon looked puzzled.

"It's a snuggly."

"A what?"

"A snuggly. It's a baby carrier made of cloth. You wrap the baby in it and then you wrap it around your shoulders. It snuggles them in real good. Supposed to be real good for fussy ones."

"Can we try it?" Erika asked eagerly.

"Sure," Trip said, rising to his feet. "C'mere, boss. Now you stand right there. Okay. Put this over your shoulder and tie it back there." He watched as Jon fumbled with the fabric. "Good. Now the little one goes in here like so." Gently he lowered the baby into the pouch created by the fabric. Instantly, she leaned into her father and snuggled in. Trip looked up with a grin. "See? Works like a charm."

"Thank you, Trip," Erika came over and gave him a hug. "You can stay for dinner, right?"

"I don't have to be back until 0200 hours."

Erika raised an eyebrow as she leaned against the doorframe. "In that case, I think you can take the first shift with this little one tonight when she decides she's having too much fun to sleep."

"Yes ma'am."

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you all for coming along on this journey with me. There maybe a sequel sometime in the future…!


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